Tag: Italian food

Bread5 Comments

Focaccia alla Genovese

StefanGourmet

Focaccia is mostly known as Italian flat bread topped with herbs, salt, and olive oil. One of the original types of focaccia is the one from Liguria, known as focaccia alla genovese after the capital city of Liguria (Genova). This is plain focaccia, preferably eaten still warm, and not only eaten with dinner but also used for sandwiches as well as for breakfast! Focaccia alla Genovese is salty, oily and slightly crispy on the outside and soft and airy on the inside. You could also bake it topped this with olives, rosemary, or sage, but it is really good just … Continue reading Focaccia alla Genovese

1. Antipasti (appetizers)5 Comments

Swordfish Carpaccio (Carpaccio di pesce spada)

StefanGourmet

Welcome to Stefan’s Gourmet Blog!   If you like what you see here, you can sign up on the sidebar to receive an email whenever I post a new recipe. In Italy I always like swordfish carpaccio as antipasto, but unfortunately fresh swordfish is not available in the Netherlands. I decided to try making it with frozen swordfish, and it was certainly good enough to make it again! I am usually not a big fan of frozen fish since it makes the fish dry, but for this preparation it is OK. As with many antipasti, you just need good olive … Continue reading Swordfish Carpaccio (Carpaccio di pesce spada)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)5 Comments

Radishes Risotto with Monkfish and Pancetta

StefanGourmet

I liked pasta with radishes, so I thought I’d try risotto with radishes as well. The pasta with radishes seemed to need a little pancetta, and since pancetta is also good with monkfish I decided to combine the three of them. And it worked! I cooked the monkfish sous-vide, but if you don’t have sous-vide equipment you could just pan-fry the monkfish, being careful not to overcook it. Ingredients For 2 servings 225 grams (1/2 pound) monkfish fillet 80 grams (3 oz) pancetta, thinly sliced 1 bunch radishes with nice-looking leaves 2/3 cup risotto rice such as Arborio 2 cups … Continue reading Radishes Risotto with Monkfish and Pancetta

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)4 Comments

Sea bream with vegetables (Orata al forno)

StefanGourmet

This is another dish we had at the Ligurian coast that I recreated at home: sea bream roasted in the oven with vegetables. It is quite easy to do: you only have to find the freshest sea bream you can find and learn how to take the fish off the bone once it’s cooked. Use an instant-read digital thermometer with a probe to always cook the fish just right: tender and very juicy. Especially if it was very fresh (and not frozen). Fish should never be overcooked as it will be dry, but nobody likes undercooked fish either. Taggiasca olives … Continue reading Sea bream with vegetables (Orata al forno)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)10 Comments

Stuffed fillet of Venison (Involtini di Capriolo)

StefanGourmet

I picked up some more roe deer venison, which is still in season in the Netherlands, and created this ‘Italian style’ dish that is not an existing dish that I know of. You could also use regular venison or even veal or beef for this, but venison makes it just that bit more special. You can cook the involtini sous-vide or in the oven. Ingredients For 2 generous or 3 normal servings 400 grams (0.9 lbs) fillet of roe deer venison or regular venison 50 grams (2 oz) pancetta, chopped 25 grams (1 oz) dried porcini mushrooms 2 cloves garlic, … Continue reading Stuffed fillet of Venison (Involtini di Capriolo)

1. Antipasti (appetizers)13 Comments

Insalata Caprese, how to improve the taste of Mozzarella

StefanGourmet

Insalata Caprese is almost too simple to blog about, but I do have some interesting tips to provide. At the risk of writing the same thing over and over, this dish is a classic example of Italian cuisine that relies completely on the quality of the ingredients. Use the best flavorful ripe tomatoes you can find, fresh fragrant basil, the best extra virgin olive oil you can afford, and last but not least the best mozzarella you can afford (and find!), preferably buffalo mozzarella. Real fresh buffalo mozzarella is very hard to find outside of Campania, the region around Naples … Continue reading Insalata Caprese, how to improve the taste of Mozzarella

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)8 Comments

Linguine with Scampi, Scallops, Zucchini and fresh Tomatoes

StefanGourmet

This is an elegant seafood pasta that I like to prepare. As always, the quality of the ingredients means a great deal. I used fresh scampi, but you could also substitute with jumbo shrimp as long as they are ‘wild caught’ and have the heads and shells to make some wonderful shrimp stock. Frozen scampi or shrimp are also fine, but the scallops must be fresh (since frozen scallops release too much water when you try to sauté them). The delicate flavors of scallops and scampi or shrimp go well with fresh tomatoes, zucchini and basil and just a tiny … Continue reading Linguine with Scampi, Scallops, Zucchini and fresh Tomatoes

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)14 Comments

Classic Ossobuco alla Milanese sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Ossobuco is a classic Italian dish from Milan that most people know as veal shanks braised in tomato sauce. Originally, the veal shanks were actually braised in veal stock with just a hint of tomato. I like this classic version, because it gives a meatier flavor. With sous-vide cooking, you could braise the veal shanks at a lower temperature to obtain a different texture. This time, I’ve used Modernist Cuisine’s recommendation for veal shanks, which is 72 hours at 62C/144F. The meat comes out with a classic flaky structure and is very flavorful but just a bit dryish, and that’s … Continue reading Classic Ossobuco alla Milanese sous-vide

Cooking48 Comments

Real Pizza in a domestic oven using an Aluminum plate

StefanGourmet

I’ve blogged before about Modernist Cuisine, the amazing set of books by Nathan Myhrvold et al. On pages 2-26 and 2-27 they explain how to “make your electric broiler perform like a wood-fired oven” to make pizza. I was intrigued by this, as I’ve been trying to bake proper pizza in my domestic oven for years and have had only moderate success. The problem is that, even though my oven can be heated to a pretty high temperature of 300C/575F, the pizza takes 10 minutes or more to bake and the crust will then be chewy rather than crispy on … Continue reading Real Pizza in a domestic oven using an Aluminum plate

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)5 Comments

Linguine ai gamberoni alla Fra Diavolo (Linguine with flambeed shrimp, garlic and chile pepper)

StefanGourmet

I was intrigued by this recipe by Pasta Princess since it involves flambéing the shrimp, and decided to make my own version with some alterations. As far as I’ve been able to find out by googling, Fra Diavolo is a recipe that is typical of the Italian kitchen in the United States. Nevertheless I tried to make this recipe like I believe it might be made in Italy. I like Pasta Princess’ suggestion to serve this over home-made pesto fettucine, but since I made this after work and didn’t have time to make fresh pasta, I used linguine as this type is … Continue reading Linguine ai gamberoni alla Fra Diavolo (Linguine with flambeed shrimp, garlic and chile pepper)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)11 Comments

Penne with Asparagus and Goat cheese

StefanGourmet

Emmy Cooks blogged recently about “an automatic bond among people who spend the day in serious contemplation of what to eat next”. When I read that, I realised that I am such a person, too. I also realised that I also feel this bond with my fellow food bloggers out there, even without ever having met them yet. I don’t think about food all day, but I do care a lot about what I eat and make an effort to eat well as often as is pratical. I think this is only logical as I believe that food is something to enjoy … Continue reading Penne with Asparagus and Goat cheese

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)8 Comments

Sea bream in salt (Orata al sale)

StefanGourmet

Sea bream cooked in a salt crust is a great way to prepare this lovely fish that is used all around the Mediterranean, including Spain, France and Italy. I had tried to make this once many years ago, but it got too salty. A few weeks ago I was telling my Italian friend about this experience while the waiter at the restaurant in Luguria where we were having dinner was filleting the orata al sale. He had overheard our conversation and said that I should try it again because it is very easy if you leave the scales on, dry the fish carefully, … Continue reading Sea bream in salt (Orata al sale)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)6 Comments

Pasta with Radishes (Orecchiette ai Ravanelli)

StefanGourmet

I was at the supermarket deliberating what I was going to make for dinner and noticed a bunch of radishes. I don’t eat many radishes and when I do, I usually eat them raw. But I remembered reading somewhere on a blog (don’t remember which one, might have been Emmy’s) that you can also eat the leaves and so I decided to make pasta with radishes. I turned out quite nice and was definitely something different. Cooking takes the edge off the radishes sharp taste. I might add pancetta next time or something else to complete the taste profile, but … Continue reading Pasta with Radishes (Orecchiette ai Ravanelli)

1. Antipasti (appetizers)12 Comments

Carpaccio of Sous-vide Octopus (Carpaccio di Polpo)

StefanGourmet

Octopus can be very tough and bland, but when you cook it sous-vide it will be tender and flavorful. I wrote about sous-vide octopus (Insalata di Polpo) before, but since octopus sous-vide is so good and I saw a nice idea on GialloZafferano that enables you to slice the octopus more thinly, I decided to write about it some more. The photos on GZ suggest that you can actually get slices of octopus ‘sausage’, but since there is no ‘glue’ to hold them together that doesn’t happen and the slices fall apart. It still looks great, and the thin slices make the … Continue reading Carpaccio of Sous-vide Octopus (Carpaccio di Polpo)

Eating15 Comments

Dining in Italy: Combal.Zero

StefanGourmet

  My regular readers may have noticed that I haven’t posted for a few days. That’s because I was in Italy, to visit friends and to eat at Combal.Zero. In September we dined at Combal.Zero in Rivoli (close to Turin, Italy) for the first time and were totally impressed with the food. So much, that we wanted to go back there again soon. And so we did. Combal.Zero has two Michelin stars (I can only guess why there aren’t three), ‘tre forchette’ (3 forks) from Gambero Rosso (the highest rating from this leading Italian guide) and ranks 59 in the … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Combal.Zero

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)4 Comments

Pasta with Broccoli (Orecchiette al Broccoli)

StefanGourmet

I make this pasta quite often, as it is tasty, healthy and quick to make. It is also convenient because the only fresh ingredient needed is broccoli, which keeps quite well in the refrigerator. It doesn’t take longer to make this than it takes to cook the pasta. Since the ‘sauce’ contains anchovies, Italians will generally not serve this with parmigiano as that would overpower the taste of the anchovies. If you do like to eat this with parmigiano or pecorino (which is also good) and you want to be authentic, leave out the anchovies. Or just make sure that … Continue reading Pasta with Broccoli (Orecchiette al Broccoli)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)13 Comments

Truffle, leek and shallot risotto (Risotto al Tartufo, porro e scalogno)

StefanGourmet

I don’t cook much with truffle, as the quality of the truffles available in the Netherlands is usually disappointing — especially considering the price. But when I got this dried truffle as a freebie to try out, I thought I’d make a nice risotto with it. For future reference I can point out that it is better to buy fresh truffle, because for the list price of this (1.5 grams of dried truffle and a bit of truffle-infused olive oil) at 8 euros ($10 US) you can usually buy 8 grams of fresh truffle (at least in Amsterdam), which will … Continue reading Truffle, leek and shallot risotto (Risotto al Tartufo, porro e scalogno)

Basics13 Comments

Slow food: Ragù alla Bolognese

StefanGourmet

One of the most well-known Italian dishes outside of Italy is Spaghetti alla Bolognese. The funny thing about this is that Bolognese Meat Sauce (Ragù Bolognese) originates from the city of Bologna, where it is never eaten over spaghetti but always over fresh tagliatelle! So Spaghetti alla Bolognese is not really an Italian dish, even though today you can eat it in restaurants in Italy, especially the tourist traps. Another common misconception is that Ragù alla Bolognese is a quick sauce of tomato sauce and ground beef. First of all it is not quick but should simmer for hours, and … Continue reading Slow food: Ragù alla Bolognese

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)8 Comments

Revenge on the Nettles (Tortelli di Ortiche)

StefanGourmet

Our front garden was suddenly infested with nettles and other weeds. We tried to get rid of our weed problem in the front garden by covering it with ivy, but due to the very cold winter the ivy was a slow starter this year and the weeds were faster. But we got our revenge on the nettles… by eating them! (Those of you who can read Italian had already figured that out, since tortelli di ortiche means nettle tortelli). I had tried tortelli di ortiche in Italy once or twice and liked it, so when we removed the weeds from … Continue reading Revenge on the Nettles (Tortelli di Ortiche)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)6 Comments

Veal scaloppine with Eggplant and Mozzarella (Scaloppine alla Melanzana e Mozzarella)

StefanGourmet

A well-known and excellent antipasto (that I haven’t posted about yet, but I will at some point) is involtini of roasted eggplant, mozzarella and basil. Years ago I thought it would be nice to combine this with veal scaloppine and a bit of tomato sauce. I really loved the result and made it often when I had guests over for dinner. I hadn’t made it for a few years until yesterday, and liked it as much as before. It’s not difficult to make but the taste is very impressive. Ingredients For 4 servings 4 veal scaloppine (around 120 grams/4 oz each), … Continue reading Veal scaloppine with Eggplant and Mozzarella (Scaloppine alla Melanzana e Mozzarella)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)2 Comments

Penne with Cauliflower and Almonds (Penne Cavolfiori e Mandorle)

StefanGourmet

Summer still seems far away here in the Netherlands, so I felt like making this hearty pasta dish. It’s a simple dish with an original flavor, and very filling. This is not an original Italian dish; the combination of cauliflower and almonds is my own invention. Ingredients For 2 servings 150-200 grams (1/3-1/2 pound) penne pasta 300 grams (2/3 pounds) cauliflower florets 50 grams (2 oz) blanched almonds 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 cup home-made chicken stock (or vegetable stock) 1 cup whipping cream salt and freshly ground white pepper 6 fresh basil leaves, finely shredded 1/4 cup freshly grated … Continue reading Penne with Cauliflower and Almonds (Penne Cavolfiori e Mandorle)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)1 Comment

Tagliatelle al Prosciutto

StefanGourmet

This is one of those dishes where the quality of the main ingredient makes all the difference. If you use really good prosciutto (Spanish jamon iberico will also do) that has been aged for at least two years and is sweet rather than salty, this dish will be amazing. If you use cheap prosciutto, it will end up being so salty it’s hardly edible. Good prosciutto is expensive, but even good prosciutto comes in a natural shape and thus there are pieces of the ham that are less attractive to be sliced. For this recipe you will chop it anyway, … Continue reading Tagliatelle al Prosciutto

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)5 Comments

Fennel risotto with Sea bream (Risotto di Finocchio con Orata)

StefanGourmet

Risotto or pasta is not served as a side dish in Italy, but sometimes you do get fish fillets served on top of a nice plate of risotto (in many cases raw, or just slightly cooked because the raw fillets are on top of the hot risotto). I really like the combination of a risotto made with fennel and home-made fish stock and a sea bream or seabass fillet, fried on the skin side only for juicy tender fish with crispy skin. Risotto takes some time and patience to make, but the texture is better if you do the proper … Continue reading Fennel risotto with Sea bream (Risotto di Finocchio con Orata)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)2 Comments

Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese

StefanGourmet

Pizzoccheri are a short and flat type of pasta from the Valtellina region in Northern Italy, made from buckwheat and semolina flour. You can buy them dried or make them yourself (something I might try another time). They are traditionally eaten with swiss chard (coste) or savoy cabbage (verza) and the local cheese: valtellina casera. This cheese is important to get the authentic taste, but if you can’t find it then fontina can be used as a substitute. This is the only traditional pasta dish that I know that has cabbage in it. Unlike other pasta dishes that are supposed … Continue reading Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)7 Comments

Home-made Bigoli alle Vongole

StefanGourmet

Two years ago we visited the city of Mantova in northern Italy and loved the Bigoli alle Vongole we had at Trattoria Cento Rampini. I was used to making pasta alle vongole with dried linguine or spaghetti, but really liked it made with bigoli. Bigoli are thick hollow spaghetti, made by extrusion. I am not sure if Cento Rampini used fresh or dried bigoli and whether theirs included eggs or not. During the same trip to Italy I picked up my own pasta extruder, so I’ve made bigoli alle vongole and other dishes with extruded pasta since. I like to … Continue reading Home-made Bigoli alle Vongole